Snow & Ash: Endless Winter Read Online Free PDF

long grass and weeds pressed against the van’s window so I know we won’t be going out that way. I also see his Sippy cup lying on its side near the roof so I grab it and offer it to him. His chubby fists grab on to it like a lifeline and he stuffs the spout into his mouth. I take another look around the back seat and spot Matty’s diaper bag so I snag the strap and pull it up and stuff it in between the seats so I won’t forget it. Looking up at the side door above my head, I reach up and try to pull it open but it’s stuck, locked. Stupid child locks means I’m going to have to go back into the front seats and unlock them.
    I close my eyes and try to roll the pain out of my shoulders and neck but the ache isn’t going anywhere. For the next five minutes I wiggle and squirm in between seats trying to get the doors unlocked and open. I force myself not to look at Mom and take deep breaths to push the pain and devastation back so I can get Matty out. No matter how many times I hit the unlock button nothing works. I’m going to have to break a window.
    I sit for a minute and try to figure out how to do that. I turn and look at all the van’s windows that are all intact. I’m not strong enough to break any of them. The only shot I have is the windshield. It’s still in place but there are cracks all through it and some of it is webbed in hundreds of little cracks. I want to kick it but the way the van is tilted I can’t stand up or lean on anything to get my leg up to kick without falling down on Mom. Tears of frustration build in my eyes. Where is everyone? Why hasn’t anyone come to help us yet? I know there were other cars that crashed ahead of us and we hit them but didn’t anyone survive?
    “X, X, X…Maaaaaa?” Comes from Matty in the car seat and I can tell he’s amping up again for another wail so I slide back between the seats and lean over him.
    “I’m here Matty. I’m here! I’m going to get us out of the van, ok? Just hold on and I’ll get us out of here.”
    His fat little bottom lip trembles and he pats at my face nearly poking me in the eye so I give him my best smile and pretend I’m going to bite his fingers which makes him laugh. “Be right back, Buddy!” I fake a cheerful tone and move away to the back of the van.
    The seats back here have been put down to make room for all the stuff we didn’t send ahead with the moving truck. It’s mostly suitcases of our clothes and garbage bags filled with blankets. Matty’s monster stroller and toys are in a scattered tangle. None of this stuff is going to help me bash the window out so I start shifting things, looking for anything I can use for a battering ram. I grab a small stroller wheel and pull it to the side before realizing it’s from the small umbrella stroller Mom uses when she doesn’t need the big one. It’s light and folded up, all the wheels come together. I might be able to use it so I pull it closer before looking for something else to use before giving up.
    The back window of the van is now clear and I can see out. We’re in the ditch and there’s nothing behind us. If I can get out of the windshield I can use the keys to unlock the van’s rear hatch and get Matty out that way. I slide the small stroller through the seats and up into the front before tweaking Matty’s nose to make him smile and then follow it.
    Before I start pounding at the glass, I get the keys out of the ignition and stash them in my jeans pocket. There’s a strap that goes around the stroller when it’s folded up to keep it from opening and I make sure its snapped closed before aiming the four wheels at the window. My first strike is tentative and does nothing. I take a stronger hold and give it a harder push. Some creaking and cracking noises but it doesn’t shatter and fall like I want it to so I start really hammering on it. I put all my anger, frustration and fear into it and on the fourth ram the wheels go straight through the window. The